


push until you can't and then demand more (gotta turn the world into your dance floor)

by aletterinthenameofsanity



Series: author's favorites [13]
Category: Lemonade Mouth (2011), Power Rangers, Power Rangers R.P.M.
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe- Band, Bullying, But I kinda love it, Cameos, Coming of Age, F/F, Gay Male Character, Happy Ending, I'm not entirely sure, Inspired by Lemonade Mouth (2011), Lesbian Character, M/M, Music, Non-Linear Narrative, One Shot, POV Scott, Queer Themes, Rare Pairings, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Trans Male Character, Trans Ziggy Grover, because i love it, i wrote this in one day, never gonna stop using that tag am i?, no beta we die like man, where did this come from?, wherein the pizza place is Jungle Karma Pizza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 12:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16912494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aletterinthenameofsanity/pseuds/aletterinthenameofsanity
Summary: At first Dillon refuses to interact much with anyone in the band. He loves music, but he doesn’t much love his bandmates.But then there’s Ziggy, who originally refused to join, who it took Dillon’s words to convince, who is constantly wearing Dillon down.The way Summer's fingers race down the strings, the way she sings, the way she moves- she was never meant to burn out at the altar, to sacrifice herself for the wishes of those too close-minded to know her for who she really is.When Scott’s singing, the whole world falls to the side. He's able to forget tragedy and life circumstance, to just let the music take him away to another world. There is just him, in focus, the words pouring out and the music moving through his body.The band ends up performing at the Halloween Bash and end up getting banned from performing at school due to the little protest they staged at the end, but that just makes Flynn more determined to keep going. They've started a revolution and Flynn isn't about ready to let it die.(The band that begins from five bitter kids in detention will soon have the world at its feet.)





	push until you can't and then demand more (gotta turn the world into your dance floor)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PinkRangerV](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkRangerV/gifts), [prettydizzeed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettydizzeed/gifts).
  * Inspired by [we are not what you think we are (we are golden)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13915980) by [prettydizzeed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettydizzeed/pseuds/prettydizzeed). 



> Title is from "Determinate" from the Lemonade Mouth soundtrack, and all the lyrics contained within the story also come from the same movie.
> 
>  
> 
> I've been wanting to write R.P.M. fic for ages, and I've been so tied up in my Soulmate AU- which takes place in an alternate universe to the R.P.M. universe- that I haven't been able to. And I've been on a Youtube blackhole of old Disney/Nickelodeon music and thus...this was born. And I love it.
> 
> Disclaimer: this holds true to a lot of the plot of Lemonade Mouth, but has different backstories/characterizations than the movie has for the main characters.

_This is the story on how we lived_

_The glory of what we did_

_It started when we were kids_

_With music up in our heads_

_She said_

_Livin' on a high wire_

_Runnin' through a wildfire_

_You can't shake me, I'm not going nowhere_

**_-Lemonade Mouth,_ Livin' On A Live Wire**

 

 _"Poets. Geniuses. Revolutionaries._   _R.P.M. has been called all of these things. But the real story— the story of how the band came to be is a mystery to them all. But would they believe if I told that them it all started right here—"_

“The rules in here are simple," the teacher announces once all five detention-dwellers are sitting in their seats. Scott glances around at them all- no one, save that new kid in the leather jacket with the gloomy look on his face, are normally outwardly trouble-makers. Summer Landsdown has always been one of the popular kids, Ziggy Grover has always been suspicious as he hangs out with some of the gangs, but he's never been loud about the possibly illegal things he's doing, and Flynn McAllistair's always been too straight-laced and obsessed with doing right to get in detention. Scott wonders what got them all in here.

"No eating, no drinking, no sleeping, no talking, no tapping, no texting. You break a rule, I add another day of detention. Are we clear?"

None of the students nod, but the teacher doesn't seem to care. She's probably far too used to taking care of students who give no shits. "Great,” she says, and Scott tries to remember what her name is. He knows she teaches music, that she dropped a CD a few years back that didn't really go anywhere, but he's never taken a music class in his life. Ms. Ford, he thinks?

“Alright, so I've decided— rather than twiddle your thumbs for the next hour. We are going to put those thumbs into use!” declares the overenthusiastic teacher. “We're going to clean up around here. We're going to unpack, and we're going to turn this storage room into a music room! I mean we might as well make the best of it, right? We've been banished to the basement—” The sound of a flush from above can be heard in the detention room, and Scott sighs. This school doesn't give two shits about all the clubs that exist in the basement, only caring about the athletes who can play in the new gymnasium upstairs. “Did you hear that?” And another flush. Ms. Ford- yeah, Scott's pretty sure at this point- seems pretty pissed off at this point. “Oh. If they spent a fraction of what that new gymnasium cost to keep this music program alive, I—” Then an even louder flush is heard. “Ooh, that is it. That is it!”

She leaves and for a few moments, awkward silence reigns.

And then the tapping starts, all thanks to Ziggy Grover.

 

_"Summer Landsdown, bass."_

Summer’s parents want her to do so much, to be so much different than she is. They want her to marry the guy they’ve picked out for her, to be the perfect little rich girl, and before Scott's seen her play he believes that she's meant to just be that.

But the way her fingers race down the strings, the way she sings, the way she _moves_ \- she was never meant to burn out at the altar, to sacrifice herself for the wishes of those too close-minded to know her for who she really is.

The five of them are playing at the Jungle Karma Pizza, and Summer lights up the stage like a live wire when she takes her first public solo song. She is so much more than her ex-girlfriend's popularity and her parents' old-fashioned wishes- she is brilliant, with a spirit that burns brighter than anything that could seek to snuff her out.

She gets off the stage after their set is over, face covered in sweat and grin brilliant as a million suns. "That was pretty damn good," she says.

Scott saw the way she sang, the way she stared down Tenaya without flinching, the way her voice roared without once wavering. Summer is a force to be reckoned with, and he is more than happy to have her sing lead on some of their songs.

"Gotta agree," he says, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "You're pretty damn amazing, Summer."

"My ass is completely gay, Scott," Summer says with a smirk, "But thanks for the compliment."

Scott immediately flinches away, practically whipping his arm off of her. She's real pretty and all, but he's probably just as gay as she is. "I didn't- I didn't mean-"

Ziggy and Flynn both burst into laughter and even Dillon is smiling a little at Scott's distress.

"You know, Truman," Dillon says, "It looks like you  _aren't_ the suave leading man you pretend to be 100% of the time."

"But anyway," Summer says once they've all had a bit of a laugh at Scott's expense, "Thanks for letting me sing lead for once. There were a few things I needed to say." Her eyes light up with cold fire and Scott understands where her voice came from tonight, the pain that her music's power comes from.

 

_"Ziggy Grover, drum god."_

Ziggy’s the one who started the music, what with his constant tapping and drumming and all, but he’s the last one to agree to join. “Me? In a band? You guys have _got_ to be joking me.”

But eventually he agrees, and the pieces of the band start to fall into place. They have a drumline now, a beat to measure the music by, and Ziggy’s no one’s traditional drum man but he’s got something that makes him important and indisposable to the band.

When they all go down in a spiral, getting into fights and getting sick and even getting arrested, Ziggy is there with quips and attempts to lighten them all up. Sometimes those attempts at humor fail, but in the end Ziggy is always there for them, doing his best to keep the band from falling apart.

And they’re there for him, too. When someone spits a slur in the hallway, calls Ziggy by his deadname, there is Flynn ready to fight, hands curled into fists at his side, Summer lashing out with her sharp tongue, Dillon actually throwing punches, and Scott going toe to toe with Ven, the leader of the bullies (and their rival band).

They all end up in the detention room again, but this time they're not strangers, they're a band of friends who are bruised but with grins on their faces because they didn't let the bullies slide by.

"You didn't have to do that," Ziggy says, but his grin is huge and there's nothing his friends would rather see on his face.

Scott shakes his head. "No one deserves to be treated like that," he says, "Especially not you. You're our best friend."

Ms. Ford enters the room. "Gotta say the prescribed bit about what you all did being against the rules and not what our proud school stands for and everything and I have to keep you in here for an hour, but that doesn't mean that I've gotta do anything beyond that." Then she smiles proudly at them. "Want to use this detention as practice for Rising Star? The room's pretty much soundproofed from previous music classes taking place here, so the principal won't catch you."

Scott grins at her while to his side, Ziggy's already got his drumsticks in his hands like usual, tapping away at his jeans. Not even something as horrible as what that dick had called him is getting him down- rather, he seems more determined than before to continue playing music. And that makes Scott smile.

As they practice, Scott catches the way Dillon looks at Ziggy. It's half-protective, half-admiring. Scott's not sure if Dillon's watching the way Ziggy's hands travel across the drums- always on beat and enthusiastic but today almost kind of dangerous in their intensity- or Ziggy himself. 

 

_"Dillon Peterson, lead guitar."_

At first Dillon refuses to interact much with anyone in the band. He agreed to Scott and Flynn’s idea of a band, but he wasn’t too enthusiastic about the people in it. He loves music, but he doesn’t much love his bandmates.

But then there’s Ziggy, who originally refused to join, who it took Dillon’s words to convince, who is constantly wearing Dillon down with his personality. Scott doesn't miss the fact that Dillon only really seems to smile when he's with Ziggy, when he lets in the guy that everyone finds irritating. Dillon never does, though- he doesn't find one aspect of Ziggy, from his bad jokes to his constant fidgeting to his sometimes sketchy attitude, annoying. 

Scott can't help but admire that part of the gloomy new guy. Ziggy gets on Scott's nerves at least part of the time, and to see Dillon's unending patience and sometimes amusement with Ziggy is certainly respectable (especially considering the way he seems to give no shits about most of the rest of the world.)

Scott's not gonna deny, though, that it makes perfect sense when he finds Ziggy and Dillon making out after the Halloween Bash. They're certainly an unlikely couple, to be sure, but they've got something that the rest of the world doesn't.

 

_"Flynn McAllistair, keyboard."_

Flynn loves every aspect of being in a band- the music, the bandmates, the ability to inspire and move all kinds of losers and misfits to stand up and just be themselves. It’s why he first suggested the idea of a band. He wants to move people, wants to turn his love for music- for keyboard, for rapping, for songwriting- into something greater than himself.

He and Scott fight- it’s inevitable- but they learn so much about each other along the way. Turns out Flynn's not as straight-laced as Scott always thought. Though the keyboardist works part-time as a mechanic at his dad's car, he doesn't obey  _all_ the rules. If he perceives a rule as unjust, then he's completely fine with breaking it. 

Scott also learns that Flynn’s dad is getting remarried, and that such a thing happening only three years after they moved to America doesn't sit well with Scott. It seems to be the only thing, actually, that can crack Flynn's general optimistic attitude and determination to rebel against everything wrong in the world.

The band ends up performing at the Halloween Bash and end up getting banned from performing at school due to the little protest they staged at the end, but that just makes Flynn more determined to keep going. They've started a revolution and Flynn isn't about ready to let it die.

The five of them head to Jungle Karma Pizza- the local pizza shop- to talk about the future of the band. Ziggy and Dillon aren't as ready to keep the band going- they're practically ready to jump ship, in the end- but then they head outside of building and find that there is an actual fucking banner with their band and the words JOIN THE REVOLUTION printed in big, fuck-off letters printed by a photo of them performing at the Halloween Bash.

Flynn turns to Ziggy and Dillon, a proud smile on his face. "You ready to leave now?"

Dillon shakes his head, and even Ziggy, the eternally reluctant, doesn't seem ready to give up anymore.

Flynn places his hand in the middle of the circle and one by one- first Scott, then Summer, then Ziggy, then Dillon- all place their hands in the circle. "To R.P.M.," he says, looking each member in the eye, and they all nod and echo his words.

 

_"And me, Scott Truman. Future frontman for R.P.M."_

When Scott’s singing, the whole world falls to the side. He's able to forget tragedy and life circumstance, to just let the music take him away to another world. There is just him, in focus, the words pouring out and the music moving through his body. 

When the music plays, he can forget that his parents are dead 'cause of a car accident. There is only him here, him and his aunt K (his mom's adopted sister), who has no idea how this generation works but is trying her best.

But the rest of time, it kind of feels like it's just him against the world. Even his new friends don't entirely feel like enough so that he's not alone. 

Then come the day his cat dies, which finds him at home, mourning the loss of the last free, living thing his parents left him with. He knows it's kind of stupid, but he can't work up the energy to make it to school.

And then Flynn and everyone else shows up, making awkward conversation with his Aunt before finding their way into the backyard. They all plop down around him, laying down on the grass looking up at the clouds. Flynn's hand finds its way into Scott's as Scott's friends try their best to lighten the mood by pointing out things that the clouds could represent.

But the light mood doesn't work. It's here and now that they all start to spill their own problems, the things they've been keeping locked up within themselves, in some sort of attempt to make him feel better. Summer's bad relationship with her parents, Flynn's fear of his dad moving on from his mom and from Flynn himself, Ziggy's hard time coming out as himself, Dillon's broken family, and Scott's dead parents. 

Scott ends up sitting up, too tired with everything that's happened today to keep up an optimistic air. "You think that's bad? My parents are dead," he says, voice raw and kind of broken, "And I'm being raised by a woman who loves me but has no idea how to express that. After they died, things kind of went off the rails."

Flynn wraps an arm around Scott's shoulders as Summer begins to sing, words light and reassuring, and Scott finds himself smiling despite the way today began. He has a new family of friends now that are by his side, no matter what may happen. They're a bunch of misfits, raging out against the worlds that built and broke them.

Even Ziggy and Dillon are moving in closer and singing by the time they hit a chorus, _"Everything changes, but one thing is true, understand? We'll always be more than a band."_

There's no way Scott is ever going to give up on his band, on his teammates and their family together. Drom Ziggy's energy and drumbeat, to Dillon overcoming his sad history and power on the guitar, to Summer's fire and music, to Flynn's songwriting and his smile- Scott needs all of them in his life, and his friends are right- they'll always be more than just a band.

 

_"It was this ragtag group of five that started it all."_

 

 

_+1_

_"I just hope our new guitarist can keep up."_

 

The world is collapsing around them. Scott’s got a cold, Dillon’s got a couple of broken fingers, Ziggy nearly got them all arrested just a few days ago, Summer finally told her parents off, and Flynn's got a black eye, and it seems like Rising Star is going to fall apart for them before they've even played a note.

It seems like the actual end for R.P.M. in the public eye. Everything they've built to, everything they've made for the dreamers and hopers and the underdogs, the movement they accidentally started but have definitely taken ownership of- that's going to end too. Scott can't believe it.

They begin to leave the stage, the world falling apart around their ears, but then-

But  _then_.

The audience starts singing _their_ song. It starts out quiet but eventually grows, with strangers and family and friends all joining in. Summer’s parents, Scott’s Aunt K, Dillon’s little adoptive siblings Gem and Gemma, Ziggy’s Uncle Bob, Flynn’s dad and future stepmom, even Ms. Ford- they’re all here, all know the words to the song that Flynn and Scott wrote.

And Tenaya, Summer’s ex, the one who had fought her over the rivalry between the Venjix band and R.P.M., steps out onstage playing the chords to _Determinate_ on her guitar, a supportive smile on her face. Summer turns, tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips, as Tenaya begins to sing along with the crowd.

Scott himself might even be tearing up a bit as the music sweeps through the auditorium until everyone is one their feet, singing and dancing as one. And it's a bit off-key, a bit weak in places, but Scott is pretty sure he's never seen or heard anything more beautiful in his life.

The difference they'd thought they'd been making is completely real. R.P.M.  _has_ created a revolution, and it's utterly glorious.

-

Within a year they're on a national tour, the five of them and Tenaya, who's made a welcome addition to the band. Their tour bus is kinda crowded but the six of them get along pretty well, considering everything that's happened.

Most days, Scott finds himself collapsed on the tour bus couch at the end of the day, Flynn tucked in on one side while Dillon and Ziggy are sitting at the table, arguing over a game of dominoes in between settling things with a kiss, and Summer and Tenaya sit on one of the back beds, laughing over something or other.

Flynn grins at Scott, young and eighteen and on top of the world. "Best decision ever."

Scott nods back before leaning forward and kissing his now-boyfriend. "Best idea _you've_ ever had."

"Gotta agree," Flynn says, smile attempting to smirk but not quite getting there.

"Wasn't your worst idea, McAllistair," Dillon says, looking up from his and Ziggy's very heated game- and how are dominoes that intense, Scott's never going to understand- with a smirk on his face. Despite Dillon being a nice friend and all, Scott's never going to understand what makes Ziggy want to kiss that smirk.

"Gotta agree, man," Ziggy says, linking his fingers with Dillon's. Dillon doesn't protest- instead, he just gives Ziggy a small smile. "Thanks for convincing me to join, Dillon."

"The band wouldn't have been the same without you, that's for sure," Scott says, and he's being completely honest.

-

When they play, they're all wearing the same black leather jackets and black jeans, but they wear different shirts and shoes that differentiate them. Scott wears a red t-shirt and matching sneakers, Flynn a blue tank top and mechanic's boots, Summer a yellow blouse and yellow heeled ankle boots, Dillon a black t-shirt and combat boots, Ziggy a green button-down and green sneakers, and Tenaya a white ruffled tank top and white leather heels. They form the image of a diverse but uniform band, and looking at them Scott couldn't be prouder.

Scott's pretty sure Madison Square Garden won't know what hit it.

"You guys ready for the biggest night of our lives so far?" Scott asks his band before they head for their starting positions, and they all grin at him.

"Of course we are," Ziggy- no longer reluctant, now ready to take on the world after a year of performing- says, and the rest of the band nods.

Scott smiles back. "Then let's do this."

There's one last group hug- and they make sure not to smear their stage makeup- before they all split up, everyone save Scott slipping on their instruments while he grabs a handheld mic.

Then the lights go on, Ziggy's beat starts, and Scott begins to sing. " _Up, down, spinnin' all around. Fly high, falling to the ground. Sometimes dreams can feel so far away..."_

All around him, his band is moving and playing and singing, and the largest crowd of their lives is going wild. The band that began from five bitter kids in a basement now has the world at its feet.

" _Here comes a breakthrough."_

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit awkwardly written, I know, but I really like this and hope you all did too. I really like my R.P.M. kids and can't wait to hopefully write more for them. Leave kudos and comments if you liked it- both are a writer's lifeblood and are very much appreciated.


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